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Fight between Kerala cops turn ugly, deputy DGP accuses chief of manhandling him
ADGP Tomin J Thachankerry says he was manhandled in office, DGP T P Senkumar claims he smuggled out sensitive files and was “pulled up” for that.
The ongoing fight between Kerala police chief and his deputy took an unpleasant turn on Thursday when the ADGP complained that he was manhandled in office whereas the DGP maintained that he was only “pulled up” for smuggling sensitive files.
Director general of police TP Senkumar, who was reinstated last month by the Supreme Court after Kerala government removed him, has been facing hostile weather since his return, as the Pinarayi Vijayan government posted controversial IPS officer Tomin J Thachankerry, who has a couple of cases pending against him, as his deputy.
In the manhandling case, Thachankerry filed the complaint with the chief secretary who later sought an explanation from the DGP.
In his reply, Senkumar said his deputy had smuggled out many sensitive files, including ones concerning Thachankerry. Senkumar said the latter was only given a stern warning and not manhandled.
The issue also figured in the high court two days back. While hearing a case against Thachankerry, the court had asked the government to respond to a charge whether he was appointed to keep a tab on the DGP. Two days before his reinstatement, there was a massive reshuffle in higher echelons of police that angered the police chief.
After the CPI(M)-led government came to power last year, the first action it took was transferring Senkumar, who was known to be an upright officer. The government cited the ‘mishandling’ of Jisha case — a law student who was brutally murdered in her home in Kochi last year — and “inept handling” of Puttingal fire tragedy in which 110 persons were killed, for the transfer.
After transferring him, the government had appointed Loknath Behra, a former NIA official, as the DGP. Senkumar then moved the apex court challenging the government decision.
The court ruled that his transfer was arbitrary and not in accordance with established norms. His reinstatement invited embarrassment to the government, which in turn made his stint troublesome. Senkmar is set to retire on June 30.
